The present invention relates to a child restraint system, and particularly to a portable infant seat having a detachable base. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable infant seat that is easily and readily coupled to and uncoupled from a base mountable to the seat of a vehicle such as an automobile.
Infant car seats are widely accepted as a necessary appliance for transporting young children in automobiles or other vehicles. However, car seats are one of an assortment of items including strollers, portable infant carriers, and many other devices suitable for accommodating specific child transport needs. Parents welcome a child transport device that serves multiple purposes, such as an infant car seat that can be used easily to carry children away from the vehicle such as when shopping or performing other activities.
An infant car seat including a portable carrier suitable for use away from a vehicle and a detachable base adapted to be mounted to vehicle seats would be one such multiple purpose device. Infant car seats with detachable bases are known in the art. Techniques for coupling seats to bases include a tongue-and-groove arrangement as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,345,791 to Bryans et al. and 4,733,909 to Single II et. al, a slidable spring-loaded bolt system as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,177 to Meeker, a system including restraining rails to restrict longitudinal motion and stops to restrict vertical motion as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,472 to Freese et al., and a three-point coupling arrangement as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,113 to Meeker.
What is needed is an infant car seat having a detachable base that is convenient to use and that is simple in design. Manufacturers would welcome a device requiring a minimum number of assembly parts to minimize manufacturing costs, while consumers would appreciate an infant carrier that is easy to couple and uncouple from a detachable base while incorporating conveniences typically associated with portable infant carriers. The device of the present invention is designed to satisfy both the manufacturers and the users.
According to the present invention, a restraining system is provided for a child. The restraining system includes a base that is mountable to a car seat and a infant carrier that is formed to be received by the base. The base includes a clamp arm and the infant carrier includes a shell having a mounting site fixed to the shell and positioned to lie in locking engagement with the clamp arm when the infant carrier is fully seated in the base. The infant carrier further includes a release button positioned to engage the clamp arm when the infant carrier is seated in the base. Pressing the release button when the infant carrier is seated on the base causes the clamp arm to disengage from the mounting site, thereby allowing removal of the carrier from the base. When the base is not available, the infant carrier may be mounted directly on the car seat so that the infant faces rearwardly and the carrier held securely by a seat belt in conventional fashion.
In preferred embodiments, the infant carrier includes two mounting sites and the base includes two spring-loaded clamp arms. A mounting post is provided at each mounting site and each clamp arm is arranged to grip one of the mounting posts to hold the infant carrier in a fixed position on the base. Illustratively, the left side of the infant carrier shell includes a first mounting post and a companion release button. The right side of the infant carrier shell includes a second mounting post and another release button. When the infant carrier shell is nested in a mounting position on the underlying base, a left-side spring-loaded clamp arm engages and grips the first mounting post while the right-side spring-loaded clamp arm engages and grips the second mounting post. The release buttons can be operated to disengage the clamp arms from the mounting posts.
To lock the infant carrier to the base, the infant carrier shell is positioned relative to the underlying base such that the two mounting posts contact the two clamp arms. As the infant carrier shell is lowered into the base, the clamp arms, under camming engagement with the mounting posts, are forced back against their biasing springs to mounting post-releasing open positions, allowing the mounting posts to enter slots adjacent to the clamp arms. Illustratively, the base further includes a floor and a pair of spaced-apart upstanding support members rising up from the floor. Each support member is configured to carry one of the spring-loaded clamp arms and to include one of the mounting post-receiving slots. When the infant carrier shell is fully seated in the base, the clamp arms spring back to mounting post-gripping closed positions, trapping the mounting posts in the slots formed in the support members and thus locking the infant carrier shell to the base.
Decoupling of the infant carrier shell from the base requires only that the operator grasp the infant carrier shell with both hands, depress the release buttons which are ergonomically located on left and right side walls of the shell adjacent to the areas, grasped by the operator, and lift the infant carrier shell away from the base. When the spring-loaded release buttons are depressed, the release buttons move relative to the shell to engage the clamp arms and pivot them to the open positions. Once the clamp arms are pivoted and retracted to their open positions, the infant carrier shell can be lifted up and away from the base with no interference from the clamp arms.
The infant carrier and base of the present invention are designed with a minimum number of parts to minimize manufacturing costs while providing a restraining system that is convenient and easy for the operator to use. To further add convenience and encourage use of the restraining system, the infant carrier is formed to include a carrying handle coupled to the shell to facilitate use of the carrier outside of and away from a vehicle. The bottom side of the infant carrier shell is shaped and formed to enable the carrier to be rocked like a cradle when placed on a flat surface to allow for pacifying an infant, and the bottom side of the infant carrier shell is further formed to nest inside of shopping carts.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.